By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 25, 2026
The Georgia requirements table
- Agency
- Georgia Department of Public Safety, Motor Carrier Compliance Division (Regulatory Compliance Section of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement)
- Program name
- Georgia Intrastate Motor Carrier (GIMC) Registration, plus DPS motor carrier certificates for the regulated carrier classes
- Application
- GIMC registration: DPS UCR-2, Georgia Intrastate Motor Carrier (GIMC) Application, filed online at the DPS UCR-GIMC site or by mail, email, or fax. Household goods certificate: DPS TR0006, Application for Class B Interim Certificate to operate as a Household Goods Carrier.
- Filing fee
- There is no state operating-authority fee for a general intrastate freight carrier because Georgia issues no such authority. The costs that do apply are the GIMC per-vehicle registration fee and, for the regulated classes, the certificate application fee. See gimc_registration and certificate_application_fees below.
- Renewal
- GIMC registration runs on the calendar year with a December 31 deadline and enforcement from January 1. A DPS certificate is issued first as an Interim Certificate valid for one year, after which DPS audits performance and issues a permanent certificate. Certificate holders must refile certificates of insurance at least once every two years and whenever coverage changes.
Who the requirement covers
Georgia insurance minimums
State minimums can differ from the federal filing levels; the federal side is covered in our insurance filings guide.
- Liability minimum
- Sourced negative, and a necessary one: Georgia issues no general intrastate operating authority for freight (see required:false above), so there is no general intrastate carrier class for a minimum to attach to. The GIMC registration does require a Form E public liability and property damage filing from for-hire registrants, but names no amount; the insurer files the form and the underlying policy limit is not set by a published Georgia floor. Every figure Georgia does publish belongs to a DPS certificate class (household goods, passenger, limousine, non-consensual towing) and is recorded in certificate_insurance_minimums below. Re-checked 2026-07-26 across the DPS rules and the GIMC application; no general-freight figure exists to record.
Which carriers need a Georgia certificate
Public Safety regulates a short list of carrier classes and leaves general freight alone. Household goods movers need a certificate at any vehicle weight when the move is for hire between points in Georgia. Passenger carriers and limousine carriers need one. Non-consensual towing operators need a permit. Ride share network services, transportation referral services and their providers, and certain taxi services register each year and pay for a permit to operate.
Everything else that hauls property for hire inside Georgia operates without a state certificate. The department rule behind that split is blunt: nobody covered by the certificate subchapter may operate as, or hold itself out to be, a motor carrier of a regulated class without first applying for and obtaining the appropriate certificate.
The GA suffix, and what it replaces
Georgia never built a state carrier number the way California and Texas did. It borrowed the federal one. A carrier operating exclusively inside Georgia obtains a USDOT number as an intrastate carrier and then displays it with a GA suffix and the carrier's legal name or a single trade name on each side of the power unit.
The marking has a spec, and roadside enforcement reads it: the lettering has to be legible from a set distance in daylight and in a color that contrasts sharply with the background. Carriers that letter a truck for looks rather than for the rule get written up for something they thought was cosmetic.
GIMC registration, the annual state filing
This is the filing that replaces an authority fee. Commercial carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies that operate in intrastate commerce in Georgia register each year with Public Safety, and the charge is set per motor vehicle that travels exclusively inside the state rather than per company.
The price changes at the turn of the year. Register before the deadline and you pay the lower per-vehicle rate; register after it, or register for the first time, and you pay the higher one. Registration runs on the calendar year with a December 31 deadline and enforcement beginning January 1.
The paperwork is heavier than the fee suggests. A for-hire registrant needs its insurer to file proof of public liability and property damage coverage, and every registrant needs a notarized immigration compliance affidavit, a copy of a secure and verifiable document, and proof of finishing an approved motor carrier safety seminar within the previous twelve months. Payment goes by card, money order, or certified bank check; personal and business checks are refused.
Insurance filings and the minimums Georgia publishes
Georgia publishes no minimum liability figure for a general intrastate for-hire freight carrier. The state registration application asks a for-hire registrant's insurer to file the liability form, but names no amount to file it at. Rather than fill that blank with a guess, this site records it as unconfirmed and shows what Georgia does publish.
What Georgia does publish are the minimums for certificate holders, set in the department's insurance rule with separate figures for injury to one person, injury to everyone hurt in a single accident, damage to the property of others, and cargo. Passenger carriers carry their own table, split by whether the vehicle seats more than twelve.
Insurers file on the standard uniform forms, by mail, fax, email, or the national electronic filing database, and handwritten forms are refused. Certificate holders refile at least once every two years and any time coverage changes. Those published figures sit far below the federal general freight minimum, so a carrier that starts running interstate faces a much higher floor.
How a certificate application actually runs
For the classes that do need one, the sequence is longer than a form. The applicant files the written application with the fee, a financial statement, consent to a background check, and acknowledgments of the vehicle marking, insurance, and workers compensation rules. Public Safety schedules a training class on Georgia law and department rules that the applicant attends.
Within ninety days of acceptance the applicant's insurer files the required forms. The department publishes notice of the pending application, and a protest has ten days to arrive. Household goods, passenger, and limousine applicants also show that they hold and can maintain a minimum level of assets.
Approval takes roughly six to eight weeks, and the carrier may not operate until the certificate is in hand. The first credential is an interim certificate valid for one year; a permanent certificate follows based on how the carrier actually performed.
About the statute citation
You will notice this page cites department rules rather than code sections. That is deliberate.
The Georgia code is published through a script-driven commercial portal linked from the legislature's site, and its section titles could not be read at an official current source during this research pass. Aggregator copies of the code are out of scope for a page that people rely on for money decisions. The rule citations here were each read in the department's own published rulebook, so they carry a verified heading; the code sections the agencies name in passing are recorded as agency-cited references instead, and labeled that way.
Where this fits in the Georgia launch
A cell reading "Not confirmed" means the agency did not publish a figure we could verify, so we left it open rather than guessed. For the full launch order, work through start a trucking company in Georgia, then line up IRP registration and IFTA if you run beyond state lines. To compare every state at once, see the national intrastate authority table.
Frequently asked questions
Does Georgia require intrastate operating authority for for-hire trucking?
- No, not for general freight. Georgia issues no certificate for a for-hire property carrier working inside the state. The obligations are the intrastate USDOT number with its GA suffix, the marking rule, and the annual state registration with Public Safety.
What does GIMC registration cost in Georgia?
- It is charged per vehicle that runs exclusively inside Georgia, at one rate before the turn of the year and a higher rate after it or for a first-time applicant. The sourced fee fields on this page carry the current amounts from the Public Safety application.
What insurance does Georgia require for intrastate carriers?
- Georgia publishes no liability minimum for a general intrastate freight carrier, though a for-hire registrant's insurer still files proof of coverage with the state. Published minimums exist for certificate holders and for passenger carriers, and this page carries both tables with their rule citations.
Who needs a Georgia household goods certificate?
- Anyone moving household goods for hire between points inside Georgia, at any vehicle weight. That certificate brings liability and cargo filings, a minimum asset showing, a training class, and a wait of several weeks before the carrier may legally operate.
Does a Georgia intrastate carrier follow the federal safety rules?
- Yes. The department rule adopts the federal motor carrier safety regulations for intrastate operations and reads their interstate commerce references as intrastate commerce in Georgia, which pulls hours of service, driver qualification, and testing rules onto intrastate-only fleets.
Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.